Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Acquires 12,127 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 16.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 87,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,127 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $3,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 152.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 525.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 1,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter worth $45,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $46.48 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $356.60 billion, a PE ratio of 14.43, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $45.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.62. Bank of America Co. has a 1-year low of $32.35 and a 1-year high of $48.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. UBS Group raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.58.

About Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide. It operates in four segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, and Global Markets.